


Apple Cider

by danithegirl



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Autumn, Gen, Prompt Fill, batfamcontentwar, halloweencontentwar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2019-01-23 04:28:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12498756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danithegirl/pseuds/danithegirl
Summary: Just Dick sharing the joys of Autumn with Damian on a nice cold day. Just some short fall cuteness and batbrothers being batbrothers <3This was written for the Batfam Halloween Content War on Tumblr! Day one prompt: Autumn.





	Apple Cider

Damian pulls his sweater around himself a little tighter as a chilly breeze blows through the trees below. The sun is still shining, shedding a small amount of warmth on the boy, but the air is still bitingly cold so he sits on the roof wrapped in a long-sleeve shirt, thick pants, and a sweater layered on top. He sits on the shingles, knees pulled up to support his sketchbook, as he draws away at the scene in front of him. 

From the top of the manor, he can see a pond behind the line of trees surrounding the Wayne property. Right now, the normally glassy pond is glazed in a blanket of red and orange and brown from the leaves that drifted from the trees. Every time he sees it, Damian wants to wade through it, watch the sheet of leaves part as he walks through, but he knows the water is freezing cold this time of year, so instead he draws it from his perch on the steep manor roof. 

“What on earth are you doing down there?” Damian startles a little and turns to see Dick, on the inside of the railing around the roof patio. 

“It’s the perfect view from right here,” Damian responds, only a bit indignant.

“You realize that we have a rooftop balcony, right? A place specifically meant for people to use when they want to come to the roof?” Dick sounded like he was lecturing, but the grin on his face betrayed his true intention to just tease his brother. 

Damian scoffed. “It’s a better view from here.”

Dick rolled his eyes but Damian knew it was only jokingly. He walked back out of sight, and returned holding two mugs of something. He set the mugs down on the thick railing, carefully hopped over the edge, and brought the mugs down to Damian. He folded his legs under himself, careful not to fall off the slanted rooftop. “Here,” he handed a steaming mug to his little brother. “Be careful, it’s still hot.”

Damian set his sketchbook and pencils to the side, and took the ceramic mug. He pressed his palms flat to the cup, letting the warmth sink in to his frozen fingers. He held it under his nose and let the steam run over his face, smelling the liquid. “What is this,” he asked, turning to Dick.

Dick gasped like he had been shot. “It’s hot apple cider! Only the best thing about this entire season!” He grinned as Damian scowled. “It’s sorta like tea, I think you’ll like it. Alfred’s is the best in the world.”

Damian blew on the top of his liquid a little, watching the brown liquid ripple. “It smells like cinnamon,” he noted.

Dick nodded, blowing on his, too. “It’s got like, real apple juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, I think maybe some other spices, too.”

Damian tested a little bit of it, then took a sip. While it was still a little too hot, the drink warmed his mouth, throat, all the way down to his stomach. It was sweet and cinnamon at once, different than tea. Damian kept it pressed to his lip, letting the steam unfreeze his reddened nose. “It’s good,” he mumbled to Dick.

“Oh! Is it cool enough now?” Dick took a big sip of his and sighed, falling back on the roof dramatically. “Ahh. So delicious.” He threw an arm over his forehead, sighing again. Damian snickered at his brother’s silliness. He only looked more ridiculous because of the bulky jacket and scarf that were slightly restricting his movements. “So, you really like it?” Dick sat up again and studied Damian curiously. 

“Mm hmm.” 

Damian wasn’t looking at him, but he felt the genuine smile that radiated from Dick like heat from a campfire.

“I used to make it with Alfred every fall,” Dick reminisced. They fell into an easy conversation and Dick told Damian all about making it for the first time, the way it filled the manor hallways with the sweet smell, the first time he had Jason try it when he was 15. 

They sat there for a long time, Dick telling his stories and Damian listening as they sipped at their apple cider and enjoyed the sweet smell of fall. They watched as the pond collected more and more leaves with each gust of wind. By the time Dick left to let Damian return to his sketchbook, Dick took the two empty mugs back with him, but the warmth lingered in Damian’s fingers and stomach and nose, and something even warmer stayed in his chest.


End file.
